È Alice Walton the richest woman on the planet according to the new ranking Forbes dedicated to global billionaires. The heiress of the Walmart founding family takes the top spot with an estimated net worth of approximately 134 billion dollars, confirming the weight of the great business dynasties in the distribution of global wealth. Daughter of sam walton, founder of the largest retail chain in the world, Alice Walton has built over the years a public figure linked above all to philanthropy and the promotion of art, funding important cultural initiatives in the United States.
Right behind Alice Walton are two other leading figures in international industry. The ranking highlights how much of the world's wealth remains tied to historic global companies. The five richest women in the world in 2026 are: Alice Walton – approximately $134 billion; Françoise Bettencourt Meyers – approximately $100 billion (heir to the L'Oréal cosmetics empire); Julia Koch – approximately $81 billion (Koch Industries); Iris Fontbona – over $50 billion (Chilean mining empire); Jacqueline Mars – approximately $49 billion (Mars Inc.). The picture shows a strong presence of historic industrial families, especially in the retail, cosmetics, industrial and food sectors.
While the top positions remain dominated by the heirs of large family fortunes, the number of women who have built their own wealthAmong the most influential stands out Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, co-founder of the shipping giant MSC – Mediterranean Shipping Company, who is among the richest women on the planet thanks to a fortune exceeding 40 billion dollarsThis trend demonstrates how female entrepreneurship is gaining ground in strategic sectors of the global economy, from logistics to technology to entertainment.
According to Forbes data, women today represent about 14% of the world's billionaires. A share still in the minority but constantly growing in recent years. Alongside the heirs of the great economic dynasties, more and more emerging female entrepreneurs, managers and founders of innovative companies, a sign of a structural change in the global wealth landscape. Alice Walton's leadership confirms the role of large entrepreneurial families, but the future of the ranking could be increasingly shaped by self-made women, protagonists of the new global economy.